Chiropractic table



iff/f1 A. A. GRIFFIN. CHIROPRACTIC TABLE. APPLICATION FILED FEB. l?, 1919.

Patented Apr. 20, 1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

A. A. GRIFFIN. CHIROPRACTIC TABLE. APPLICATION man ma. 1?, 19r9.

Patented Apr. 20, 1920.

lill/l UNITED STATESy PATENT FFICE.

.ALBERT A. GRIFFIN, GF DAVENPORT, IOA.

GHROPB/ACTIC TABLE.

Application led February l?, 1919.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it lmown that I, ALBERT A. GRIFFIN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Davenport, in the county of Scott and State of owa, have invented certain new and useful. Improvements in Chiropractic Tables; and do hereby declare that ing is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to improvements in balancing mechanism for chiropractic tables.

The invention has for its object to furnish a structure of a most simple form for supporting various weights to be carried by the table.

An object is to provide a structure wherein the Aremoval or insertion of a member, or

members, will operate to change the rela ion between the part carrying the load, and balancing means.

Another object is to improve on this class of tables with regard to the relation the load-supporting meansbearsto the part carrying the load.

To the end that the invention may be understood, I have provided the accompanying drawings, in which,

Figure l is a plan of the base which supports the table, showing in section, a part of the table; y

Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section of the same;

Fig. 3 is an end elevation of the base,v

showing parts in section; v

Fig. 4 shows, 1n perspective, certain of the working parts;

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal section of por tions of the apparatus, showing one of thel positions of the parts;

Fig. 6 is a similar view showing parts in a different position;

Fig. 7 is a similar view of a modified form; and,

Fig. 8 is an end elevation of the same.

l indicates, as a whole, the base of the table which preferably comprises a bottom portion, sides, and one end substantially as shown. 2 is the supporting member for the patient, the same being usually properly upholstered and otherwise provided with conveniences not necessary to describe. This member is pivotally supported near one end at 3 upon a member 4c preferably compris- Specification of Letters Patent.

the follow- Patented 'Api'. 20, 1920.

serieu no. 277,626.

ing an upstanding support at each side of the base as clearly shown in Fig. l, all being common, however, to structures of this class.

5 indicates a series of long, flat flexible members preferably of steel and tempered to render them spring-like. At one of their ends they are provided with supporting rollers 6 which, in practice, travel upon rails 7, but one of which is shown, Fig. 2. S is a series of coil springs connected atrone of their ends in a suitable manner with some part of the base. Their other ends are connected to angle-plates 9 attached to the described members 5. The latter at their ends opposite those having the rollers include means, such as a rod lO, embraced by links ll, for example, pivotally attached to the short end of the member 2 in any suitable manner.

y Thus far described, the device does not diifer materially from the device shown in my pending application Serial No. 162,459, filed inthe United States Patent Otiice on the 16th day of April, 1917. n that application the coil springs 8 referred to herein were in separate groups and, depending upon the weight to be carried, one or more of the groups were manually connected to a fixed part of the base as required. In addition, the iiat spring-like members of that application, denoted by 5 herein, were made to pass beneath a roller having a stationary position. As distinguished from that form, I use, in the present instance, certain of said spiral springs or their equivalents., attached permanently between the base and the springs 5. Then, in order to provide for varying weights imposed upon the table, the roller is made adjustable substantially in the direction of the point of support at 3, or laterally of the line of pull of the spiral spring, the purpose of which will become apparent. This adjustment' may be provided for in a number of ways., two of which l have illustrated in the drawings. A study of the first siX figures will make one of the methods entirely clear.

Upon the bottom of the base, which eX- tends beyond its sides, are erected spaced standards l2, one of which is shown in perspective in Fig. 4L. Their lower ends are suitably secured to angle-bars 13 clearly shown in Fig. 3 which embrace the lower corners of the base and suitably secured thereto.

lll is a member lying upon the tops of jio the standards and connected at its ends t each and serving as a brace for the same. On the inner face of each standard is secured a pair of guide-ways 15 within which a plate 16 is vertically slidable. 17 is a roller having a shaft extension at each end, not shown, each having a bearing in one of said plates 16.V At the top of each plate is a supporting'shelf 18 lying beneath the member 14 described. rIhus mounted, the roller 17 is free Vto have vertical movement with the plates 16.

In Fig. 2 the roller lies in its lowest position, the spring-like members 5, connected :to the member 2 described l 7ine` beneath it. In this figure two blocks 19 will be observed which are inserted between the member" la and the shelf'18. -These blocks are, for convenience, about of a length equal to the distance between the standards 12 and their vends lie upon the two shelves 18 and they'iill the space between the member 14:

v 5 is applied thereto.

and the described shelves so that the roller will be prevented from rising from the position shown when pressure of the members When not in use the blocks are conveniently disposed of by placing them in suit-able retainers such as straps 19 secured on the sides of the base.

In said Fig. 2 the member 2is shown in its normal upright position for use, or in the position to receive a person in upright position in the usual way, the foot step usually employed not being shown. When Yes said member is drawn down to the hori- Y yzontal position the members 5, as shown in dotted lines, are drawn outward and up around'the roller, drawing upony the springs 8, The pull of the latter, permanently connected as described, is suiiicient, when the roller is in its lowermost position, shown to shelves 18.

support the heaviest load that may be imposed.

extent that the leverage of the table is rendered more effective so that with the Same pull of the springs 8 a much lighter load can be balanced.

In Fig. 6 neither of the blocks is eml ployed, the shelf portion 18 being permitted to move up to and against the member 14 in which position of the roller a still lesser load may be accommodated.

In Figs. 7 and 8 another form of the I roller supporting mechanism is shown. 20

is a pair of arms pivoted at one of their ends upon suitable standards 21 of the base, one at each side of the latter, the other ends ofthe arms supporting between them the roller denoted by the character 22 beneath which the flat members 5 lie, as before.

Two eXtreme positions of the arm and roller are shown and may be held in either position, or intermediate ones, by means of a rod 23 extending through holes 25 in the two standards 24. This, of course, is a mere modification and may or may not be used, while other ways of supporting the roller and providing for its movement laterally with respect to the line of pull of the springs 8 may be readily devised, since it is not my purposelto be confinedsto any particular structure for the purpose.

In the first six iigures the members 18 indicate lodgments for the spacing bloei-:s 19.Y

The change in position of the roller with respect to the pivot at 3 may be likened -to the shifting of a weight, or equivalent power, with respect to the fulcrum of a lever. In this case the member 2 is the lever, and the springs 8 the weight,vmade variable in edectiveness through the change in its point of application by the adjustment of the roller.

The Hat members or springs 5 act in their longitudinal movementto place tension on the springs. 8, serving as the means to permit the table 2 to move on its fulcrum the while.

In some of the claims the springs 8 and the said fla-t members5 will be referred to as an element since, as a matter of fact, thev operate as one part or as a unit.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a device of the character described, the combination with an unbalanced lever fulcrumed between its ends, of a counterbalancing` element operatively connected to the short arm of the lever including` a laterally flexing non-stretching portion, a member mounted between the said portion and the fulcrum and receiving the said portion against it, said member being adjustable to fixed positions in a direction substantially perpendicularly to the line of pull of the said counter-balancing element.

2. The combination with a table of the type set forth including an unbalanced lever, of a counter-balancing element operatively connected to the short arm thereof including a' non-stretching laterally dexing portion lying beneath the fulcrum of the lever, and a member disposed between the lever and the said portion receiving the latter against it, said member being adjustable substantially perpendicularly to the line of pull of the element upon said lever.

3. The combination with a table of the type set forth including an unbalanced lever, a counter-balancing element including at one end a non-stretching laterally liexing portion connected operatively to the short end of the lever, a member disposed between the lever and the portion, receiving the latter against it, and in use fixed in position but adjustable substantially perpendicularly to the line of pull of the portion upon the lever.

4. In a device of the character described, the combination with a table ulcrumed between its ends whereby to have a short arm and a long arm, and a counterbalancing ele ment operatively connected to the short arm thereor1 constantly tending to raise the table toward a vertical position, and including a non-extensible flexible port-ion, and a member disposed between the fulcrum and the flexible portion adapted to receive the latter against it and adjustable in a lateral direction with respect to said portion, and means to secure the member in a desired position.

5. The combination with a device of the type set fort-h including a table fulcrumed between its ends in unstable equilibrium,

and an element operatively connected to its short arm and constantly tending to maintain the table in substantially an upright position on its fulcrum, and a member disposed between the fulcrum and the element in the path of the latter adapted for adjustment in substantially the direction-of said i'ulcrum, and means to secure the member' in a desired adjustment.

6. The combination with a device. of the class described including a base, a table fulcrumed thereon having a long and a short arm, and an elastic element iixed at one end to the base and attached at its other end operatively to the said short arm, holding the table normally upright on its fulcrum, of a member lying between the ulcruin and the element receiving the latter against it, and adjustable in the direction of said fulcrum.

7. The combination with a device of the class described including a support, a table fulcrumed thereon between its ends, and a balancing element connected at one end to the table and at its other end to the support constantly tending to move the table upon its ulcrum, of a member disposed at the apex of a triangle whose base is described by a line drawn between the points of attachment of the element, and beneath which the element lies, said member being adjustable in the direction of said base, and means to secure the member in any one of several adjustments.

8. The combination with a device of the class described including a table ulcrumed between its ends, and a counter-balancing element operatively attached to the table constantly exerting a pull tending to raise the table to an upright position, of a member having a position to receive the element against it and adjustable laterally of the direction of applied Jforce orn the latter whereby to change the direction of that force with respectto the fulcrum of said table. i

9. In a device of the character described, the Combination with a table fulcrumed between its ends and having a short arm and a long arm, a counterbalancing element includinga flat spring` adapted to lier: extending beneath the ulcrum of said table operatively connected to the short arm of the latter, and an adjustable member mov able with respect to the spring in the direc tion of the flexing movement thereof.

10. In a device of the character described, the combination with a table fulcrumed between its ends and having a short arm and a long` arm, a counterbalancing element including a 'lat spring adapted to flex extending beneath the fulcrum of said table operatively connected to the short arm of the latter, an adjustable member movable with respect to the spring in the direction of the Herring movement, and means to secure said member in a desired position.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ALBERT A. GRIFFIN. `Witnesses J. C. HALL, MARIE KENNEDY. 

